January 1, 2012

If it would have been in my hands, I would have been living in the woods; surrounded by trees and nearby flowing river. I would have got up in the morning with the chirping of the birds, morning walk with bears and dears, farming/ cultivation in the afternoon and in the evening having a cup of Tea beneath the trees. I was enjoying the tea and all of a sudden a loud horn of the automobiles and I was out of my lovely dream. It was the time to accelerate my car. Insane traffic broke my dream but the thought was too adamant to leave my brain. I kept on thinking about the dream for some days, till I got engulfed with my routine schedule.

It was yet another visit to Agra when I spotted the sign board for "Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary", around 25 Km. from Mathura.

At first I was wondering as I have not heard the name before and to be honest I was totally unaware that such a bird sanctuary exists and that too so near to Agra (12 km. to Agra). How come I have never noticed this park during my earlier drives through Agra? However true to my nature I had started early from Delhi, so I took the liberty of exploring the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. Start early whenever you are on for a road trip, you might get some surprises the way I got.

There is a very nominal entry fee, but the better part is that you can take your car inside the sanctuary. However it is expected from the visitors to not to disturb the animals and birds, so please refrain from honking. All the roads are yours, whether it is a concrete or kucha road. Moving slowly on way which was covered and surrounded by trees from both sides, was nothing less than the royal welcome by the nature.

Extravagant nature which was outside the window panes compelled us to stop the car and enjoy the walk. You can park your car as per the convenience and enjoy the Jungle Safari:

It was the first time I got the chance to tread into the forests. Whistling woods had created a magnetic field around us and we were getting sucked inside the forests despite the warnings that tourists should not go too inside the forests. Though there were occasional sounds of snakes hissing and other animals, but those were far too small and weak to dampen our spirits.

Where there is a will there is a way. I am not a wild life expert, but still I was exploring whatever was coming my way:

If you think Ranu is scared, indeed he is. Though he put up a brave face, but I knew he was scared.

We will never forget this walk with you and will keep on talking for the days to come. May be we can plan some more outings like that in the coming time.

Once our souls were contended of the astonishing flora, we restarted our pursuit for the unexplored. We were due for an amazing surprise in the form of "Keetham Lake". On a foggy afternoon and laden with clouds, witnessing the lake in its full natural grandeur was simply an out of the world experience.

Observing the lake from the distance was not my cup of Tea, so I took the plunge downsides to be at the closest point of the lake. The moment was nothing less than being in a wonderland. There were a lot shells were lying on the bed of the lake, we too picked a few as a souvenirs. Suddenly I went back recalling my dream, which had met an abrupt end due to the city traffic. I got the walk in the woods and a nearby lake too, it was the time to thank the Gods for their benevolence.

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As we were about to start back a forest guard told us not to miss the Bears. You guessed it right he was talking about the cute animal.

We took no time in reaching the bears' place. The fenced boundary wall visible in the below picture is the official residence of the "Bears".

However to meet the resident we had to walk to the nearby watch tower. But it was very difficult for me to resist the temptation, so I tried to see the animal by going atop a tree. My efforts went in vain as I was not able to get any sight of the Bears. Hard luck, I started to walk again....

All is well that ends well. The moment we reached at the top of the watch tower, there was a very huge bear in front of us, Bear did not kept us waiting.

With that we were almost at the limit of our available time. It took us around 2 hours to go around the Sanctuary, but the memories gathered were much more. When ever you plan to drive to this side keep some time for romancing the woods.

From the next time on wards whenever I will be driving to Agra a stop at this Bird Sanctuary will be a necessary part of the schedule.

10 comments:

Wow the view is certainly amazing. Though i miss the snapshot of the face off between you and the bear! coincidently you and i both visited a bird sanctuary recently. I like the way you write your experiences. Keep writing!

We are planning a visit to the sanctuary will a big group of 20 families by bus. what do you advise. can the bus also go inside or we will have to explore the woods on foot. can the bus reach the lake and the bear centre.Please advise

Entry of bus is not allowed inside the sanctuary. Do not worry the stretch of the sanctuary is not too long, about 3-4 kms only. Belive me, walking on foot will be a great experience. Lake and bear centre are opposite to each other and you will have the liberty og going anywhere inside the park.Hope I am anle to answer your query. Do share your experiences with me too.

thank you for the information.I would like to know how far is the the bear centre/lake from the entry. is there a monkey menace in the sanctuary.how much time should we keep aside for the sanctuary if we want to cover the lake and bear centre on foot with a family group

Once you enter from the main gate, the lake is about 2 km. away. There is not much on the left hand side, hoewever on the right hand side you can tread into the forests, as also visible in the pics. Bear centre is just on the right hand side of the road to the Lake, you do not have to walk any extra for that. But to reach the tower house from where the bears are visible you can to walk around 200 m.

We did not spotted any monkeys in the sanctuary. There can be a few but since there are no residential areas nearby or in the sancturaay so probability of finding monkeys as per me is very very less, if there are any.

This is a very soothing and peaceful place, one can spend even whole day; but I guess 2-3 hours will be sufficient enough to enjoy this park. All the best and share the experiences...

Liked this article. Happy to see this beautiful Bird Sanctuary coming out of the shadow of Bharatpur.Wish more and more people visit this place to enjoy its beauty. Kind words of encouragement for the management.

Thank you for taking time to post comment on Travel Diaries. Your comments are the real source of motivation. If you require any further information about any place, please feel free to contact me by mail or through the comments on the posts.We look forward eagerly to receive you again on Travel Diaries.

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